African Peanut Stew

It took me a really long time to wrap my head around using peanut butter as a savory ingredient. I knew people did it and I knew people loved it but I just couldn’t see peanut butter without chocolate, bananas or jam. I should point out that I also used to live off of only a handful of foods: coffee, bananas, cheese, chili, soup, pasta, peanut butter, vegetables and bread. Sometimes there would be pizza, sometimes I’d eat an apple instead of a banana, maybe once a month I’d eat a sandwich. I had a very boring appetite and I rejected all weird food combinations and cuisines other than North American and Italian. I was also skinny. Very skinny.

When my husband and I started dating, he started forcing me out of my comfort zone without even realizing it. Spending a few years living in Africa and just being a lover of all food in general, he always wanted to go out to different restaurants. I, not wanting to seem picky or difficult in the beginning, happily obliged and very quickly fell in love with all the foods. It was from that point that I started wanting to cook anything and everything and combine foods in ways I previously would have turned my nose to. In that time I also kissed my size 0 pants goodbye and welcomed a more forgiving size. I’m not unhappy about it- food is amazing, wine and cider are always on tap and I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a sad piece of chicken with plain steamed vegetables ever since.

That probably isn’t the best segue in to convincing you to make and eat this African peanut stew. I swear it won’t make you kiss your pants goodbye and it really truly is a pretty healthy meal. It’s also inexpensive, comforting, the spiciness is totally customizable and it couldn’t be easier to make. Leftovers will keep for 5 days in the fridge and the flavor just continues to develop. I usually make enough for 8-12 bowls of the stew and make an extra big pot of rice to keep in the fridge for easy meals throughout the week.

I often turn to making this when our food budget is dwindling throughout the month from the overzealous cheese buying, chocolate piles, bottles of wine and duck breasts. It takes humble ingredients and turns it in to such an incredibly satisfying meal that doesn’t at all make you feel like you’re eating on the cheap. I actually don’t even use any kind of broth in the stew at all – remember, this is something I make when we’re running a little low. While it’s very cheap to make your own broths and I do it often, I’m the type of person to use every last thing we have before buying anything else which means we probably don’t even have a bone or vegetable scrap left.

All we’re using is 2-3 sweet potatoes, one single red pepper, one single jalapeno, one onion, 2-3 cloves of garlic, a hunk of ginger, some curry paste, water, peanut butter (Hi, Costco, thanks for your ginormous sized jars that cost next to nothing), a little sugar, juice of 2 limes (at my market, they are 5 for $1), and plenty of salt and pepper. Oh and black beans. Cheap cheap cheap black beans. Soak them, cook them yourself and it’ll only cost you pennies. Of course, if you’re pressed for time, a big can will suffice. Cook up a big pot of rice or whatever grain you have on hand- quinoa (not so budget friendly), bulgur, couscous, millet, whatever you have, and dinner or lunch are served. For days.

These are ingredients that are in my kitchen 24/7. I can almost always find at least one pepper neglected in my fridge and I often find jalapenos in the back of the cheese drawer. Why they are in the back of the cheese drawer, I cannot say. I can say, however, that there have been many, many times where my cheese has been flavored with the jalapeno and I definitely didn’t hate it. I also feel like red curry paste keeps forever in the fridge. I mean I’m sure that it isn’t true, but I swear to you I keep finding half used jars from God only know when and I open them, smell them, see that they’re still usable and, well, use them. I must buy it way more often than I realize. I must. I hope.

I also hope you make a batch of this peanut stew asap.

Don’t forget to follow me on instagram and if you make a recipe, tag your photo #thepretendbaker so I can see what you’re whipping up!

Servings vary depending on how much rice/ if you use rice/ how hungry you are. It does ME 8 bowls with rice. If you're my husband, it's more like 4-5.... with rice.Leftovers will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days. The flavors will just continue to develop.Stew with thicken more as it cools, you may need to add extra water when reheating if you prefer a thinner stew. We like ours in the middle... thick enough to coat a spoon but thin enough to let the rice absorb the peanut broth.

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I’m Amanda Reynolds. A wife, cook, baker, pretend picture taker and lover of all things fall.
There is something magical about taking simple ingredients and creating a comforting, cozy meal or delicious, homey baked good. There is little else that can ease my stress or lift my spirits more than the act of creating something with my own, small hands. Read More

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I’m Amanda Reynolds. A wife, cook, baker, pretend picture taker and lover of all things fall. I hope you’ll follow along as I cook delicious healthy food, try to live a more compassionate life and hopefully start each day a little better than we were yesterday.